Visitor to St. Augustine adopts, loves male calico cat
By ANNE C. HEYMEN,
anne.heymen@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 04/09/09
Two-month-old Harry the calico kitten isn't one in a million, but he is one in about 3,000 or more.
He's also a very lucky feline.
When it comes to animals, "calico" is a color pattern found in numerous breeds of cats, and the basic colors are black, red or orange, and white. The majority are females, but, according to a study at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Missouri, one out of 3,000 calico colored cats is male.
The kitten's mother was a feral cat found at Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort near St. Augustine Beach. She was removed from the resort before it was discovered she'd given birth to a litter.
And that's where Ludlow, Mass., resident Bob Marchese comes into the picture.
Marchese, a disabled U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam era, spends about two and a half months each year in St. Augustine for health reasons, staying with his friend, Mike Powell, a resident of Treasure Beach, south of St. Augustine Beach. Powell works at Bryn Mawr, and when the kittens were discovered just after their eyes had opened, Marchese, a self-admitted softie when it comes to animals, took over bottle-feeding the tiny calico, which he named Harry, after his grandfather.
The adoption of Harry was coordinated through Goliath and BeBe's World, a nonprofit animal rescue organization operating in St. Johns County.
"This is the second calico male," for Goliath and Bebe's World in six months, said Lisa Hoff, cat coordinator.
The first one Hoff described as a "diluted calico," with muted colors.
Soon Harry, Marchese and Marchese's dog, Lucky Girl, 2, a Florida Red, became best buddies.
"My dog took over mothering," Harry Marchese said. "She's the greatest little girl. She's an alpha female. She's always the leader of the pack."
Marchese thought he had another great little girl in Harry because of the tri-color markings. That was until he took Harry to veterinarian Dr. Gary Shelton to have the kitten spayed.
When Marchese went to pick up the kitten that night, Shelton told him: "'We got a surprise for you. This is a boy!'"
If he's not a calico, Shelton said, "He's pretty darn close."
The only other possibility is he's a tabby, but Harry does have the red/orange, white and black markings.
"What a cute little cat," Shelton said of Harry. He also praised Goliath and Bebe's World for their good works.
Since the three became a family, Harry has joined Lucky Girl and Marchese on their daily fishing excursions, getting a free ride on Marchese's shoulders.
Harry is a "pretty good little boy," said Marchese, but, "like any kitten, he goes nuts sometimes."
"I love cats," just as he loves dogs, he added, but until now he never lived the kind of lifestyle conducive to having pets.
Apparently the love of pets runs in the family, because his daughter is a senior in veterinary college.
As to Harry, Lucky Girl and Marchese, they'll soon be heading back to Massachusetts. Harry most likely will be crated for the trip; Lucky Girl will take her usual place in the front seat of Marchese's car "like a person."
She "looks out the window the whole way," Marchese said.
So the story has pretty much of a happy ending. The only down side for Harry? It's too bad Marchese doesn't live in Maryland. According to the Internet, effective Oct. 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of Maryland.
The item also noted that the calico shares the same colors of orange, black and white as the Baltimore oriole, the state bird, and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, the state insect.
But Harry probably doesn't have to worry. As crazy as Marchese is about Harry, the male calico will live like a king wherever Marchese calls home.
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